Crucial MX300 SSD 1050GB Review

Conclusion

Like in most products, top-tier performance comes at a cost, and more often than not the additional performance is simply not required for mainstream users. Yes, a Bugatti Veyron can be driven at speeds of over 200MPH but on normal roads, where the speed limits max out 70MPH on a motorway, a lot of people will wonder why you didn't just purchase a more affordable car or a vehicle that could fit more passengers or luggage inside.

A similar parallel can be drawn between this scenario and that of high-end SSDs and any PC or car enthusiast would know why someone would want to own a high-end machine. Whether it is just for the owner to show off, due to their appreciation of the design and engineering inside or if they are one of the few who would actually be able to make use of the insane levels of performance available to them.

In this analogy, the Crucial MX300 is a family oriented car, one that offers an affordable price tag, plenty of space inside and more than enough performance to get you from A to B quickly. At the price of £224.39 for 1050GB of space this SSD has plenty of space for your OS, programs and even a sizable gaming library, while offering performance which not disappoint anyone in standard day-to-day use cases.

Yes, we have reviewed drives like the Corsair Neutron XTi and the Samsung 850 Evo in the past, but they come in at significantly higher price points, with both drives even offering less storage capacity at the same price range with the Samsung 850 Evo coming at 1TB capacity for £299.82 and the Corsair drive coming with 960GB for £378.49. In day-to-day use, most system builders or gamers will not notice the performance difference between these drives and the MX300, and if they do they are certainly not using this drive with typical consumer workloads.

When it comes to SSDs, capacity matters, especially when you are looking to fill your SSD with games or other large files. This is one place where the MX300 has a neat selling point, often offering higher capacities than competing drives. Where most SSD makers have 240GB, 250GB or 256GB drives, the Crucial MX300 has a 275GB model and at the 1TB-ish size range, the MX300 has 1.05GB, which is a nice little increase compared to traditional 960GB or 1000TB SSDs. That extra 50ish gigabyte will fit an extra game or two onto the MX300, which is a useful thing to consider when shopping for an SSD.

In day-to-day use, most system builders or gamers will not notice the performance difference between enthusiast grade SATA SSD drives and the Crucial MX300, and if they do they are certainly not using this drive under typical consumer workloads.

When it comes to SATA SSDs the limits of the SATA standard itself prevents high-end SSDs from achieving their full performance, making it increasingly hard to differentiate good and great performing SSDs. While the Crucial MX300 is not leading in the performance charts, its performance is outstanding given this SSD's pricing and capacity.

If you are a system builder who craves the highest levels of performance out of their SATA SSD the MX300 may not be for you, but if you want solid performance, higher than average capacities and a budget friendly price point the MX300 is certainly something that you should be considering.

With its attractive pricing and capacity options, Crucial's MX300 cannot win anything but the OC3D Value for money award, offering respectable levels of performance while also making SSDs that little bit more affordable.

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